My Norwegian Fishing Blog

Catch statistics dating back to 1876 shows that there has never been more salmon in Norwegian rivers than in 2008, NRK reported.

Authorities and anglers believe that wild salmon is about to die out, but the fishermen who are engaged in traditional fishing tools in the sea and the river has a different opinion, it comes up in NRK Brennpunkt program “The myth of the wild salmon.”

NRK refers to figures from Statistics Norway, which states that each year over the last ten years have been caught about 1,000 tons of wild salmon in Norway. Many of the best salmon rivers have had great catches in recent years, and there is a record catch in the many rivers that 15-20 years ago were empty of fish.

Statistics

Directorate for Nature Management said in turn that the salmon are in danger of extinction. Directorate refers to the same catch statistics from SSB. The figures show that the salmon fishery had a catch peak from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Catches decreased dramatically from the late 1980s as a result of the restrictions. For sea fishing, this led to a huge drop in the amount of catch.

Around the 1960s, it was the most fished a total of 2000 tons of salmon a year. At the turn of the millennium was the catch of around 1,000 tons.

Statistics figures showing that Norwegian salmon rivers has the strongest spawning stock of over 100 years. The rivers are now fished twice as much as in the 1960s.

- Error number use

Scientific Council for salmon management said that 1.2 million salmon each year in the 1980s came to the coast. In 2008 this was reduced to 490,000 salmon. According to the International Council Exploration of the Sea (ICES) that number continue to decline. Directorate for Nature Management (DN) felt not left in the image of the catches are better now than before.

- It is wrong to compare catch numbers from before 1980 with today’s figures. The old statistics are not to be trusted. Rivers that are part of today was omitted at the time. In some rivers were the only reported catches of some salmon fishing. It took probably also an under-reporting of old because the fishermen had to pay a tax that salmon was calculated for the catches they gave up, “says DN-director Janne Sollie.

- Wild salmon are threatened

NRK’s program is based on the one-sided sources and is based on the condition of the few rivers that figures can be representative, says WWF.

WWF says sea lice and farmed fish on the run threatens the Norwegian wild salmon stock. Fagsjef Nina Jensen believes the government must intervene.

- The fish farming industry must be under control in order to be sustainable and the government must make an overall plan for wild salmon and sea trout, “says Jensen.

- Disinformation

Chairman Jim Cape in Euro Pharma, a wholesale company in pharmaceuticals to the aquaculture industry, claims to NTB that parts of government closest to the driver with disinformation.

Euro Pharma sent Tuesday an eight-page long letter to the control and Constitutional Committee of Parliament to express concern over the company believes is a politicized and academically weak management. The letter shows Europharma the facts and research, and argues that the situation for wild salmon is not close to being as unique and scientifically tenable as the administration has made it that.

See original article here

Fetsund, Norway : None has ever caught a bigger pike on a fly in Norway than Truls Svendsen (13). 15,35 kg(33,84 lbs) the scale stopped on. See original article here.

The brave fisherman used nearly 20 minutes to land the monsterpike. And it took a whole quarter before he could even see how big the pike was.

-Unbelievable. It was the fish in my dreams, says Truls.
Truls from Fetsund is a newbie with fly fishing. But do not talk about beginners-luck. He has already parked both big brother Andre` and mentor Bent Nydahl when it comes to pike.

Must fish for trout
-After this I`m not allowed to join my brother(17) in pike fishing anymore. I`ve been told to change to trout fishing, says Truls with a smile.

But its going to be a struggle for that.

Truls landed a pike of 9 kg(19,8 lbs) two weeks ago, and the spot he was fishing on wednsday had already delivered a fish of 13 kg(28,7 lbs) the day before. Where the spot is he`s not telling, but reveals it`s in the delta-area in Northern Øyeren.

Selfmade Fly
It was extra fun because the big pike was taken with a fly that Truls had tied himself; a black and red “Pike Muppet”.

-He had really confidence in that fly. It was something with the eyes of the fly, tells Geir Tveter in Gero Sport Fishing Shop in Lillestrøm. He got a glance at the fly before the fishing trip and a good story the day after.

With his catch of 15,35 kg Truls crushes the old Fly fishing record on 13,95 kg. Claims for the record will therefore be delivered shortly. The pike was 134 cm long, with a belly measurement of 67 cm.

-Its two cm more than I`m myself around my waist, says the proud fisherman.

A Good Student
-It must have been at least 20 kg before the spawning time. thinks Bent Nydahl.

Bent, who are in the board in both Fet Hunting- and Fishing Association and Norway Hunting- and Fishing Union.
-Akershus, has worked targetly towards children and youth when it comes to fishing. It is him that has started Truls Svendsen.

-The boy nagged and nagged, so I had to take him along with my fishing trips. It started last year and this year he has gone completely off, says the mentor. He can tell about an interest beyond the ordinary. And better it cannot be with such fishing luck.

- Because he has. Truls has a unique ability to get fish, tells Bent.

Current Norwegian Pike record, regardless fishing tackle, is by the way 17,7kg(39 lbs)- from Nitelva.

Do you want to see live salmons and trout in a River ? This is now possible as some Norwegian guys have set up 4 underwater cameras in a Norwegian salmon and trout river. Watch the salmons HERE.
The river is Suldalslågen and you can order your vacations here with salmon and sea trout fishing. They offer cooking,river guide, fly casting course, salmon safari, rafting and helicopter tours. Their link is HERE.

Me and my son was invited to my brothers cabin in Sweden for pike fishing. He and his two sons picked us up on friday and after 2 and a half hour in the car we was there.
The cabin is a traditional swedish cabin placed next to one of many small lakes in the middle of the country.
These small lakes are often shallow with lots of small islands and rocks scattered around. Many small and large bays with weed lines are also everywhere.
These bays are popular feeding places for all kinds of fish and many predators as pike and perch are hunting these poor creatures.

We love to catch these predators and his boat is perfect to reach them. My brother has built a small pier, so its easy to start fishing. The boat is a 14 foot open boat with a electric motor to bring us around.
It was my first time in a boat with an electric motor and it was perfect! Nearly no sound at all and we could cruise around small talking and listening to the extremely rich bird life in the area.
Lots of different ducks and goose was floating and diving not far from the boat.

When we arrived it was evening and the weather was awful so we just settled in and made us comfortable with lots of chips,sweets and soda.

Next morning was better but one of my brothers sons was sick so they had to stay in the cabin. Only three of us set off with the boat and we fished for a couple of hours. We got a couple of small pike (2-3 lbs) before we entered a bay my brother hadnt tried yet. When we came to the inner part we crossed over and midways my son had a strong response on his rod. He soon noticed this was a big one and all the other rods was quickly retrieved.

He struggled for a long time before we even could see the fish. It went deep and when it saw the boat it set off with a screaming reel. But after five, six runs my son managed to pull it to the surface, and it was certainly an big one ! Two rounds around the boat and I got a firm grip inside the gill end and pulled it up. Fantastic! This was a huge experience for the two boys in the boat and we took some photos and weighted it before we put it back to its right environment. 40 inches long and 17,6 lbs (8 kg) was the cold fact.

We pulled a few other pike and perch before we headed back to the cabin, very satisfied.
We used different kinds of rapala lures , death trap lures and limberneck spinnerbaits .The spinnerbaits couldnt be used much because it was very shallow so most of the fish was taken with the rapalas among our pike lures.

Next day was better with sun and some wind. We were four fishermen, my two nephews and my son. The route went to our lucky bay and we landed 6 pikes and a perch before we headed back. No big pike that day but we was happy with those we got. One cant expect to catch a large pike every time. The boys were happy and we all had a great weekend dispite some sickness and bad weather.

Here are some pics from the trip :

The boys :

The brother, pike fisher and king of (f)art :

The cabin :

The lake :

The brave fishermen :

The author and skipper with the big one :

More bragging pics :

Tom Richard Kristiansen fished this monster halibut from the sea depth outside Sørøya in West-Finnmark yesterday morning. See original article here.

-I was completely set out. It`s around 10 feet long, three feet wide and weighes 693,4 lbs (314,5 kg). If you look at the picture of me besides the fish, I look like a small boy. I`m a man who is 185 cm high and weigh 242 lbs, says the 29 year old professional fisherman to VG Nett.

It was yesterday morning Kristiansen went out to raise between eight and ten halibut nets on the south side of Sørøya in West-Finnmark. He was nearly dazzled when he saw something big and white coming up from the sea.

-I saw a colossal light down in the sea which only grew bigger the nearer it came, says Kristiansen.

He explains that he has machines which raises the nets for him, but tells that it was a violent effort to handle the monster halibut when he got it on board.

- The fish was so big that it was nearly impossible to handle with hands only. I used approxomately 45 minutes to get it out of the net, says Kristiansen.

A good days wages

The old record of Kristiansen is from earlier this week.

- I sat halibut nets on monday, but due to bad weather I didnt check the nets until thursday. Then I also saw a colossal light down in the ocean. The halibut that time, weighed 440 lbs (200 kg), says Kristiansen.

The 29 year old has already sold the two enormous halibuts he fished this week.

How much do one get for half a ton with halibut ?

- I don`t wish to say exactly how much I was paid, but i can tell you that it was a good days wages, chuckles Kristiansen.

New norwegian record ?

The 29 year old is uncertain if the 693,4 lbs big halibut is new norwegian record.

- We did a little search on the net yesterday. The biggest we found was of 639 lbs (290 kg). There is none in this area, at least which I have heard of, who has taken a halibut of that size, says Kristiansen.

According to the fish farming company Marine Invest Kristiansens halibut is the largest ever registered, and around 15 kg heavier than number two on the list. The record is however unofficial, writes NTB.

- Big fishers empire

Sørøya is known worldwide for fish catches of abnormal sizes. Sports fishermen makes a pilgrimage to Sørøya for their hunt on big game fish.

VG Nett is told by a local guide that it in the sea outside the island in West-Finnmark has been set several world records. Among them there is caught a catfish of 48,5 lbs (22 kg), cod of 86 lbs (39 kg), redfish of 18,7 lbs (8,5 kg) – and now a halibut of 693,4 lbs.

Author : Bjørnar Tommelstad ,VG Nett

In 20 years Ragnar Tenvik has waited for it to bite. Yesterday it finally happened. He landed a salmon of 54,5 lbs (24,7 kg). The biggest salmon which is landed in Namsen for 25 years. (Original article and picture here)

- It was unbelievable. A huge experience, says the lucky fisherman to VG Nett.
The man from Sandefjord is now on top of the throne of the salmon rankings for Namsen.

Without bite for three days

He had started packing his fishing tackle yesterday evening, but got faith for a last trip with the boat finally could give a catch.

- For three days I had bid defiance to wind, sleet and hail without any kind of bite. At 6 pm yesterday evening we gave up, but then I noticed the wind turned and managed to bring with me rower Tor Kjetil Naglhus to another trip, says Tenvik.

The feeling turned up to be right, and a large salmon took the bait.

- I had a almost as big one on the hooks last year, but then I lost it, says Tenvik.

This time it didnt end up as a good fishing story.

The salmon gave up

After 40 minutes fight the monster salmon gave up.

- It was a fantastic experience. All honor to the rower. I had never managed to land the salmon without Tor Kjetil, says Tenvik.

In 20 years has Tenvik, who live in Sandefjord, had vacations in Overhalla and fished in Namsen.

- 28,7 lbs (13 kg) is my former record. I have had several of 26 lbs (12 kg), but this is what I have dreamt of, a adrenaline kick of dimensions, he says.

The monster salmon was 50,8 in (129 cm) long and measured 28,3 in (72 cm) around the belly.

- The fish was much bigger than the six year old boy of Tor Kjetil, says Tenvik.

Went home without salmon

After the salmon landing, it was a little celebration in Overhalla hotel.

- The mood was completely unbelievably. It became a couple of champagne glasses.

Tenvik is on his way back to Sandefjord, but the salmon stays behind in Overhalla. It will be mounted as a trophy.

Oddvar Heilong by Overhalla hotel informs that this is the biggest salmon which is taken in Namsen in 25 years.

See the original article and picture here.

Author : Geir Arne Kippernes, Norway

Me and my family took a trip at a local forest museum in Elverum. Had to take some pictures of a mounted record pike there which is one of Norways biggest pike ever caught with a fishing rod.


This monster pike is landed by Ronny Westjordet in the lake Mjøsa 12.May 2003.
He caught it with a crankbait or wobbler as we say here in Norway.The length was 134 cm and it weighted
17,63 kg(38,8 lbs). The age was determined to be 18 years and it was of course a female.

I also took some pictures of old homemade lures probably trout lures and pike lures .These was quite common in old days and several craftmen living nearby Mjøsa created their own versions of fishing lures.
Especially fishing spoons and spinning lures was popular for trout and pike fishing .

We found an interesting exhibition for catching pike with stationary gear; Looks like a perch imitation cut from a metal plate attached to a iron or steel thread.Does not seem to hold large pikes though.

This was a quick presentation af some of the things we saw especially regarding to pike.There were lots of other interesting exhibitions of other fishing related features.If you are nearby Elverum sometimes i recommend a visit to this museum. Elverum Skogmuseum.

Today I was invited by my brother Steinar and his family, Ann Kristin,Tor Fabian and Henrik to ice fishing in Rokosjøen. It was a sunny beautiful day with excellent conditions for ice fishing. In previous trips they have landed both perch and pike so the expectations were high.

Rokosjøen is a little lake in the middle of eastern Norway,known for its rich bird life and rich stock of perch and pike.The lake is relatively shallow with small islands and coves.

We had one hell of a work drilling a hole in this ice.I guess the thickness was about 90 cm and just seconds after the driller had dropped his butt into the chair and let down his lure he jumped out of it screaming ;FISH!!

And what a fish ! A big perch close to 2,2 lbs(1kg) ! A very dark specimen with a large belly,probably a female with lots of eggs. This was a good kick start. Not necessary to mentioned that the next hole was drilled really fast !

Before I was finished Steinar had landed another one with the same size , even darker,nearly black.

Tor Fabian and Henrik is very impressed !

“Who is the king of the lake, looser ???”
(Notice the hot dog, this bragger is addicted to them,no wonder he barely manage to drill a hole,haha)

“Oh no, now we will be hearing this for hours”
Ann Kristin is more interested in enjoying the sun and warm weather.

Tor Fabian and Henrik is fishing too but hot dogs is a must on a ice fishing trip!

We got 4 perches and was happy with those ,but we tried to do some pike fishing but was not lucky with that.
The pike lures we used was ice fishing jigs of medium size.

The worst nightmare for any sport fisher enthusiast is loosing a big fish.I lost a big pike last year and it still haunts me.What could I have done different and how big was it really ? This questions keep coming up but it is really useless to think about it.Done is done.

What happened excactly ? Well. I was fishing from my boat in my best pike fishing spot. This is a small grassy island in a wetland area.The west side of this island holds a large number of medium and big pikes.I have landed a pike weighing 22 lb and caught many right under this.I know,however some other pike anglers have taken pikes way over my record there.

I was casting my red/white jointed HI-LO, which is my undisputed favourite among my
pike fishing lures, to the weedline of this island when a pike took the lure.At first it came easily towards me and I thought it was a small one.Suddenly it turned,nearly ripped the rod out of my hands,I barely managed to loosen the brake int time before it rushed back to the island.

There it managed to swim around a small bunch of weeds and with the biggest splash I have ever seen it snapped the line and disappeared. I was paralyzed and just stood there for a couple of minutes.. It was huge,really huge and I lost it. With my hands shaking like a leaf I reeled in the broken
pike line and sweared like a drunk coalminer.

I dont think I could have done anything different,it had to go were it wanted and I had not been able to prevent the circle it did around the weeds too so the conclusion is bad luck.

If it survived and comes back to the island next season I will hopefully have another go with it…and then maybe have more luck with it.

 Coin collecting was started only as a hobby for most people, but you can hear what other people say  about news of people cashing in on their old coin; and that encouraged more people to go on a coin-collecting streak. If you are one of those people who plan to invest in silver coins, here are many places to start your collection.

Coin Shops:

Many shop owners are sellers that know a lot of information about silver coins and are selling coins too. These coin shops are a valuable place to find and gain more knowledge about coins and coin collecting. These coin shops can be excpensive, though, as they are anticipating selling their silver coins for a profit. With enough information and/or having a person who know a great deal about coin collecting at your side, you can get great prices for your coins.

Coin Shows:

There are times when your local mall will have an exhibit from several coin dealers and that will let you see all of the collections and allow you to buy some coins for a lower price due to the competition. You will probably also see several  rare silver dollars for sale suitable for your type of collection.

These coins shows are great not only for sellers and buyers but also for silver coin enthusiasts who want to see rare and hard to find silver coins.

Mail Orders/Web Sites:

There are thousands of sellers worldwide and most of them have websites that allow buy silver coins and pay for them through mail order or through any online payment system such as Paypal. You should do your research on these companies and read their terms carefully to make sure that you can get your money back when you have a issues with the coin you purchased and/or received.

For every serious web site, there are may be hundreds of fake web sites that are just attempting to get your money. You should always ask for feedback from previous customers before paying anybody online and remember not to give out any password or pin codes.

Flea Markets:

It would be surprising place to find rare silver coins at a flea market, but stranger things have happened. These places have different ideas about pricing which is due to their lack of understanding of how a coin should be priced. You will find overpriced silver coins but if you are lucky you might find a rare coin somewhere in those piles of coins that will make it worth your while.

Flea markets sellers are usually looking for a quick sell and would probably give you discounts when you buy their items in bulk. Try to buy other items and get your coins added as a bonus.

Auctions:

If you are looking to invest in really, really rare coins, the best place to go would be an auction. Auctions are the only place where you can find people selling their rarest and most expensive coins. Several of these auctions are happening online at the same time and most of the sellers are looking for the highest bidders. You must be aware and warned that some of these sellers are frauds and will not make the price you pay worthwhile. You should try to learn more about these coins and their worth before trying to buy silver coins online .

Other Coin Collectors:

Coin collectors usually have duplicate coins that they are willing to sell for a price lower than its market value. The only problem is it is hard to find another coin collector that collects the same coins as you. The best places to look are online groups, forums and (if you have one) local groups.

Other coin collectors are the best people to turn into when you want to start your own collection. They can offer you tips, discounts and some might even be tempted to give you some of their coins to kick-start your collection.

Coin collecting is like any other investment the value will fluctuate: they may depreciate in value and/or gain value at any time. The best way to profit in silver coin collecting is keep updated with the news and the prices of the coins. This will not only help you in not being fooled by merchants but by learning how to price a coin even without a price list.